Wall panels for the wall of a dwelling typically comprise a series of lumber boards arranged in a predetermined pattern and nailed together. Wall panel design varies from house to house because of consumer demand for individualized home design, although in some instances multiple wall panels for the same house will have the same arrangement. Most wall panels will include top and bottom horizontal boards and a number (often determined by a building code) of vertical boards to provide support. Often two or more vertical boards will be arranged in abutted fashion with the long axis of at least of one rotated 90° to form strengthened posts for corners and wall intersections. The horizontal and vertical boards are nailed together to form a panel. The panel is then installed in the dwelling at a desired time. Depending on the nature of the project, the panels may be fabricated on-site or remotely for subsequent transport and use.
Some wall panels include so-called “rough openings”, which are openings within the frame of the panel for windows, doors and the like (see, e.g., FIGS. 1 and 2, which show a wall panel 15 that includes an opening 16 for a door, and a wall panel 20 that includes a rough opening 21 for a window). The numbers and sizes of boards around rough openings are often regulated by building codes. Also, the locations and sizes of rough openings can vary significantly based on the personal preferences of the homeowner or builder. As a result, automation of the wall panel fabrication process has been limited.
It may be desirable to provide an automated process by which wall panels, and in particular wall panels with rough openings, can be constructed in a more extemporaneous fashion with reduced setup and change-over time from panel-to-panel. Also, it may be desirable to provide a system that can construct wall panels of different heights and extended lengths.